Biogenesis consists of the currently accepted theory that explains the origin of living beings, being these only possible to exist from the reproduction of other living organisms. In short, life only originates where there is a pre-existing form of life... The theory of biogenesis is attributed to the French scientist Louis Pasteur, the creator of the pasteurization process. According to the answers obtained through the experiments carried out by Pasteur, living beings can only originate from others. However, biogenesis does not explain how the first living being appeared.
There are several other theories, currently refuted, that try to explain the emergence of life on Earth, such as the abiogenesis (we'll see shortly afterwards) and the cosmic panspermia theory. The latter attempts to explain the emergence of the first terrestrial life forms, premised on the idea that they initially originated somewhere in space.
Abiogenesis and Biogenesis
Abiogenesis, also known as the Spontaneous Generation Theory
, was the first hypothesis to be proposed about the origin of life, from a philosophical and scientific point of view. This theory lasted throughout antiquity, with Aristotle as one of the notorious supporters.Proponents of this idea claimed that life could arise from any type of organic material. For example, they thought that frogs could "grow" in swamps and larvae in poor meat.
The decline of abiogenesis started from the famous Francesco Redi's experiment (1626 - 1697). The Italian doctor used flasks, animal corpses and pieces of meat to prove that the larvae were not born from spontaneous generation, as was imagined at the time.
Redi put the meat in the jars, but in some he sealed the opening with gauze and in others he left it open. In bottles that were open and exposed to air, larvae formed, on the other hand, in those that were closed there was no change.
Thus, the scientist observed that the worms did not "spring up" from corpses and poor food, but rather received the eggs of flies that landed on the flesh and that, later, hatched.
However, even after Redi's experiment, some scientists continued to believe in the veracity of abiogenesis. John Needan, for example, he defended the theory by claiming that spontaneous generation arose thanks to a "vital energy".
Years later, in 1860, Louis Pasteur, conducted an experiment that definitively overthrew the theory of spontaneous generation.
The scientist carried out an experiment using glass flasks with laughter similar to the neck of swans. Inside each bottle was a nutritious broth. The vials were boiled and left to rest for a few days. Due to the shape of the necks, the microorganisms were not able to come into contact with the broth, so that there was no formation of organisms in it. When Pasteur broke his laughter and left the broth exposed to the air, a few days later microorganisms appeared in the liquid.
Learn more about the meaning of Abiogenesis and the Difference between Abiogenesis and Biogenesis.
